Words on Other Topics (Excerpt 92)
You are living in this final age. Most of your family lives are more prosperous than before, and you have material abundance in every aspect of your lives. What kind of feeling do you have? It is only that slight sense of happiness in the flesh, but what is the difference between this and happiness in the heart? You all have some experiences and have seen through some things, your pursuit of faith in God is more practical than before, you can all feel that the pursuit of fleshly pleasures is empty, and you are all willing to strive toward the truth—do you all have this kind of experience? Can people’s fleshly pleasure in various types of material things bring them spiritual comfort? What can a sense of superiority in life and an abundant material life bring to people? They can only make people depraved, and make people lose their direction. In this way, people will easily lose their reason, become unable to know good from bad and become unreasonable, and they will gradually lose their humanity; they will crave comfort more and more, and become increasingly ignorant of their own place in the universe. There will even be some people who lose the ability to take care of themselves. They will be completely unable to live independently, be unable to earn their own living, and will become dependent on their parents. They will also be increasingly insatiable and shameless. In summary, what superior living conditions and a rich material life bring to people is just depravity, making them love idleness and despise work, making them become insatiably greedy, and making them have no sense of shame. They bring absolutely no benefit to people. With regard to the flesh, the better you are toward it, the greedier it will be. It is suited to enduring a little suffering. People who endure a little suffering will walk the correct path and engage in proper work. If the flesh does not endure suffering, craves comfort, and grows up in a nest of comfort, then people will not achieve anything and cannot possibly obtain the truth. If people encounter natural calamities and man-made disasters, they will be devoid of sense and will be unreasonable. As time goes on, they will only become more and more depraved. Are there many examples of this? You can see that among the unbelievers, there are many singers and movie stars who were quite willing to endure hardship and dedicated themselves to their work before they became famous. But once they gain fame and start making big money, they don’t walk the correct path. Some of them take drugs, some of them commit suicide, and their lives are shortened. What causes this? Their material pleasures are too excessive, they are too comfortable, and they don’t know how to obtain greater enjoyment or greater excitement. Some of them turn to drugs in search of higher excitement and pleasure, and, as time goes by, they cannot give it up. Some die from excessive drug use, and others, not knowing how to free themselves of it, simply commit suicide in the end. There are so many examples like this. No matter how well you eat, how well you dress, how well you live, how much you enjoy yourself, or how comfortable your life is, and no matter how fully your desires are satisfied, in the end it is emptiness on top of emptiness, and the result is destruction. Is that happiness which the unbelievers seek real happiness? Actually, that is not happiness. It is human imagining, it is a form of depravity, it is a path by which people become depraved. The so-called happiness that people pursue is false. It is actually suffering. That is not a goal that people should pursue, neither is it where the value of living is. Some of the ways and methods by which Satan corrupts people are making them seek satisfaction of the flesh and indulgence in lust as a goal. By this way, Satan numbs people, entices people, and corrupts people, making them feel as if that is happiness, and leading them to chase after that goal. People believe that obtaining those things is obtaining happiness, so people do all in their power to head in pursuit of that goal. Then, after they do obtain it, it is not happiness they feel but rather emptiness and pain. This proves that that is not the correct path; it is a road to death. Why do people who believe in God not walk this path like the unbelievers do? What is the happiness felt by people who believe in God like? How is it different from that which the unbelievers pursue? After believing in God, most people do not pursue great wealth. They do not pursue prosperity on earth, career achievements, or becoming a celebrity. Rather, they quietly go about doing their duty, living simply, and not having very high demands for their quality of life. Some people even feel satisfied by just having food to eat and clothes to wear. In a world of such darkness and evil, why are they still able to choose this kind of path? Could you say that all brothers and sisters that believe in God lack the ability to make big money? Absolutely not. It is because after these people believe in God, more or less, they already feel deep in their hearts that following God is the greatest happiness, and this happiness cannot be replaced by any material thing in the world. Some people have even tried; they’ve gone through hardships in the world for several years, and found it tiring and difficult. Even though they earned a bit of money and experienced fleshy pleasures, they lived without dignity, and their lives became increasingly empty and bitter. They felt that it would be better to die than to live like that. These people have already seen through these matters. They do not just believe in God because they have no other option, but rather they have truly felt: Following God and walking the path of pursuing the truth, as well as expending and devoting their whole life to God, are the greatest comforts to their heart, and are the greatest things in their whole life; obtaining God and obtaining the truth is the greatest happiness, and is the thing which makes people’s hearts the most peaceful, joyful and steadfast. They have already felt this happiness; it is not imaginary. It can be said that some of God’s chosen people have already experienced some tribulations and trials, have understood the truth, and have seen through many things. They have confirmed that believing in God and pursuing the truth is the correct path, that there is no other path that can be taken in the world, and that only God’s words are the truth—and they have settled on this path. A person like this has true faith, and these years of suffering are not in vain. Regardless of whether the experiential testimonies they speak of are deep or shallow, one thing is clear: If you try to prevent them from believing in God and make them return to the world, in no case would they ever go that way. Even if the world had an enticing mountain of gold, which might tempt them at the time, they would think it over: “Getting a mountain of gold or a mountain of silver would not make me as happy as expending myself for God and doing my duty. If I obtained a fortune of gold and silver, I would be pretty happy at that moment, but I would suffer torment and pain in my heart, so I cannot take that path, no matter what. It wasn’t easy finding God; if I go back again, where would I go to find God? The chance to follow God is so hard to come by! There’s not much time, and time itself is fleeting—this is a rare opportunity indeed!” They have seen God’s appearance and work, and grasping hold of God is just like grabbing onto a life-saving straw. Tell Me, what does a drowning person feel when they grab onto a lifebuoy? (They feel like there’s hope for survival, so they clutch it tightly and don’t ever let go.) That is exactly how they feel. When they are grabbing onto a lifebuoy, what would they think? “I don’t have to die now, there is finally hope for survival! When death is approaching, as long as there is a sliver of hope for staying alive, I can’t let go even if I have to use all of my strength. No matter how hard or painful it is, I cannot let it slip away. Even if I’m down to my absolute last breath, I need to hold onto that lifebuoy.” When someone feels they have hope to stay alive, do they not feel happy? Now, when you think silently, contemplate, pray, or engage in spiritual devotion, and you realize how much you have gotten from following God, doesn’t this feeling of happiness arise in your heart? Speak your true feelings. (If we weren’t following Christ, we would have already fallen into disaster, and the consequences of that would be unimaginable. Now, by eating and drinking the words of God and doing our duty, we have come to understand a lot of truths. We have gained real faith and can also fear God in our hearts; we have learned to submit to God. We’ve gained so much, and we’re so grateful for God’s guidance.) That’s right. You have gained so much from following God and doing your duty. This is what God has brought to man. You should be properly grateful to God and praise Him.
When people with true faith in God come up against issues, they are able to seek the truth, and after having some experiences they will be able to obtain some truths. The happiness that these truths bring is enough to replace the pleasures that material things and comforts bring. As for those things, the more you gain of them, the less satisfied you are and the less able you are to know good from bad. But the more thoroughly people understand the truth and the more they obtain it, then the more they know they should give thanks to God and be grateful, the more they thirst in their hearts to love God, and the more able they are to submit to God and fear God. This is true happiness. What does the pursuit of material pleasures bring to people? Emptiness and depravity; it can only make their pursuit and desire for material things grow. It is difficult for people to cast away the temptation for status, fame and gain. So, how can people who believe in God let go of these material pleasures? Is it achieved by praying every day and exercising self-restraint? (No, it is by seeing through these things.) How does one see through them? (On the one hand, it is by the exposure of God’s words, and on the other hand, it is by one’s own experiences and realizations and slowly coming to understand some truths that one can see through these things.) You understand the truth so can let go of these things, and this shows that you have accepted the truth. Deep down, you have accepted God’s word—what He has said to man and what He demands of man—and it has become your reality. Is this reality your life? It has already become your life. In doing your duty, without realizing it you have obtained the truth as your life. It is possible that you don’t yet have any feeling of it, you think that your own stature seems quite small, and that there are many things you don’t understand—but you have a God-fearing heart, and this shows that the life of God is already wrought into you. Growth in life is natural; it doesn’t require you to feel a certain way. Even if you cannot put it into clear words, in fact you have made progress and have changed. Therefore, at the same time as accepting the life truth of God, your heart has unconsciously drawn closer to God, and all the while God has been scrutinizing you and observing your heart. Think carefully now—isn’t this process a rather happy one? It is extremely happy! You are so fortunate to be living in the last days, to have the privilege of accepting God’s work in the last days, following God, and doing your duty. God’s words are directly wrought into you, which allows you to obtain the truth as life. With the life of God’s words as reality, and life of the truth as reality, isn’t human existence truly valuable? Hasn’t it become noble without you even realizing it? Hasn’t being alive slowly started to become more dignified? It is only at this time that people feel that they have gained so much by believing in God. Understanding some truths can bring such a change to people; before, they did not see through this, but now they see everything clearly. As it turns out, the truth of God’s words has already become their life inside them. The truth has taken root in the heart and blossoms to bear fruit—that is life; it is the fruit borne from understanding the truth, and it cannot be replaced by anything. When you later experience some disciplining, chastening, judgment, and chastisement, and are able to accept and submit to them, then without realizing it you will come to know God after understanding many truths, and your life will increasingly make progress. Isn’t that gradually growing up? Aren’t you also looking forward to that day? (Yes.) Then you must strive toward the truth.
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